3 years on Skoda Rapid: results of a long test

The gray Rapid with a turbo engine and a 6-speed manual is a record holder. The car ran 75 thousand km, survived three months of the national test drive, one revolution in the country, warranty period, a light accident, a dozen long trips around the country in all four seasons. Against this background, it somehow no longer makes sense to talk about the daily routine in the form of trips to work –– from work and small official voyages around Kyiv. Serious claims against the car as a whole, none of the journalists expressed. Final diagnostics at an independent service station also did not reveal any particular flaws.
ENGINE
A balm for the fans of downsizing and high technology: a 1.2-liter engine with direct injection and turbocharging over 75 thousand km showed no signs of wear! This was confirmed by the addiction diagnostics that we did at the independent Bosch Service workshop. the motor does now not consume oil, there are not any leaks or maybe traces of sweating, no matter how much they were looking for.
Unless a month ago we changed the candles, and that was not due to any malfunctions in the engine, but only because we did not like their appearance when we twisted them for a photoshoot. Such data provide the car with excellent dynamics, while it consumes from 5.5 liters of gasoline per 100 km (highway) to 6.5 l / 100 km (city). And if desired, on a long journey, we easily reached 3.9 l / 100 km.

It remains to add that we approached the issue of fuel quality with awe only in the first six months and began to refuel at all gas stations indiscriminately. Of course, it didn’t come to an open body agile, but several times they tried even cheap and exotic biofuel for us.
Body
about how convenient and practical the speedy frame is, it has been said and written abound. It’s not crowded with passengers, the trunk is large (550 l), and it’s easy to load things since we are dealing with an elevator. The interior decoration turned out to be stable – today there are no serious signs of wear. There is damage in the street crush of the capital, otherwise, the paintwork was well preserved. mainly for the reason that most susceptible locations – the bumper, the front edge of the hood, the mirror housings – we covered with AutoProTech protective film. Naturally, in these places, the “native” coating of Rapida was preserved in impeccable condition.
Running
Judge for yourselves: for 75 thousand kilometers, we threw out two broken tires and washed the stabilizer twice. Tires were damaged in severe pits, and dust and sand accumulated in the stabilizer bushings, so a creak appeared. Other questions to the chassis did not arise. All its consumables are still “native”, the machine’s build-up and suspension elasticity are at the same level, despite the fact that you can see a small cobweb of fatigue cracks on silent blocks. And nevertheless, everything is the same – no backlashes, no knocks.

Equipment

All equipment test Skoda Rapid is working properly and without complaints. Unless recently I had to change the bulb in the dipped beam, and a year ago they changed the seat heating fuse. However, to call these trifles malfunctions, even the language does not turn.

Transmission

On the transmission (recall, this is a 6-speed manual), there were no comments either: the wings, the clutch, and the elements of its drivers are still “native”. It is worth noting that, in many respects, thanks to the Rapid 1.2 gearbox, the TSI is notable for a rare combination of dynamism and fuel economy. and the most full-size paintings underneath the hood changed into the guarantee replacement of the power unit pillow by 30 thousand km. The new part was different in appearance, it was strengthened taking into account operating experience.

Rapid 1.2 TSI turned out to be a universal car in every sense, moreover, economical, and dynamic.